TO ALL RNs WHO'VE TAKEN NCLEX MORE THAN ONCE

Tennyz · Oct 29, 2007

hello everyone. i know it says rns but i thought i should share my experience since i'm still trying. first attempt july 75 questions, i knew i bombed it because i wasn't taking my time and was a nervous wreck. second attempt september 265 alot of pharm, i felt numb coming out of this exam. i thought i had done better than the first attempt because the computer kept going therefore i was doing something right. third attempt october 265 i'm still waiting on the results. i walked into that test feeling confident that i had done everything in my power to prepare. first half of the exam was good, the questions kept changing topics and kept getting harder and harder. then 80-100s i started to get alot of select-all and pharm questions. i knew going in that pharm was my weak point so i studied pharm much more than other topics. i just felt like no matter how hard i studied pharm the questions they gave me were off the wall. i've just been praying and waiting for my results. hopefully i'll have good news later today.
i passed and thank you to everyone for all your prayers and support. now i'm going to help one of my friends study for her boards in december. goodluck to future test takers. it's not impossible but yours to have!!!!

congratulations! hope you have a wonderful career as an rn! can you please tell me if you used suzanne's plan for you final attempt.

thank you.

eternalsunshine · Oct 29, 2007

I am yet to take the NCLEX and have a couple of questions, can someone please tell me how long you get to take the exam and what the pass rate is?

RN4Nascar · Oct 30, 2007

Hello!!

The exam time allotment is 5 hours, and % of passing varies very much. I hear different numbers from different states and programs.

I spent @ 2 hrs a day ..roughly studying..I did 75 - 100 questions a day. Took Kaplan class..that was MAJOR help in passing exam for me.

I wish you lots of luck!!!

Tina

eternalsunshine · Oct 30, 2007

Hi Tina

Wow! 5 hours!!

No wonder you passed ok, sounds like you studied hard and therefore deserved to pass

Thank you for the info, very helpful.

x

Born-In-The-USA · Nov 4, 2007

I have been reading the forum, a lot has passed and some has failed the exam.....

Both who passed and failed should write the feedback what worked and what did not. I am trying suzannes plan, i need to hear from those who tried it and passed or failed. Is her plan alone is enough or you used some other nclex preparation materials in addition. I need to hear from who used suzzanes plan, please.

Matilda50 · Nov 4, 2007

I have been reading the forum, a lot has passed and some has failed the exam.....
Both who passed and failed should write the feedback what worked and what did not. I am trying suzannes plan, i need to hear from those who tried it and passed or failed. Is her plan alone is enough or you used some other nclex preparation materials in addition. I need to hear from who used suzzanes plan, please.

Im telling others Suzanne plan works only use what she says I passed on 3rd attempt using that only. At first I was skeptible. When I went in and took that test it on most of questions I knew what they were looking for. Remember read and focus and understand rationales whether its right or wrong dont worry about % that is what Suzanne told me when I was in denial about her plan. Good luck to others. Remember GOD knows whats he wants for our future and maybe at times is not our times but trust in him and stay determined he will follow through. Matilda50 RN

miss_cy · Nov 4, 2007

i did suzzanes plan as well..i took it for the 2nd time last october and im still waiting for my result. suzzanes plan emphasizes focus and having a goal in a day and to apply this to my previous experiences both in my 1st and 2nd tries..my 1st try i reviewed everything BUT i didnt have a program to follow and that resulted to anxiety,having thoughts that maybe i still miss something that i havent read yet or reviewed yet...everything that i read became totally scattered in my head! i was answering practice questions and was focused on weather il get the correct answer which is not the main point of why were doing practice questions.

in my 2nd attempt.i used suzannes plan, reviewed all the posts here about her study program for nclex and got alot of positive feedlack. lots of people passed nclex using her plan as based on what ive read here..the best about it, it cost only the saunders book! the plan is free..(such a heaven sent lady she is) what it taught me that i never did before my 1st try were..focus on the rationales,read every word in the question (as in word for word), gotten a SPECIFIC goal, SPECIFIC amount of time to prepare for the exam, SPECIFIC numbers of questions to practice a day AND ALL THESE HELPED ME THE BEST DURING MY 2nd try. first time i got 170 q,1 select all,oh my God! u know im really lost during my 1st try,i cant even remember what type of questions i got that time.all because i was scared to death, ive read everything BUT I WAS SCARED TO DEATH! 2nd try got 75 q, tons of priority,3 maths, 3 select all, lots of pharm. ( and yeah i remember all that, i was in my normal state of mind while i took it 2nd try)

still waiting for a snail mail though, got no ssn so yeah, il get a mail this november. but i know suzzanes plan helped me alot.it prepared me to be at my best and God made me confident that i pass the nclex.:balloons:

JbelRN83 · Nov 5, 2007

Congratulations! Hope you have a wonderful career as an RN! Can you please tell me if you used Suzanne's plan for you final attempt.
Thank you.

I was only able to complete the First Tip of her plan because by the time I asked her I didn't have enough time according to her plan. So I made sure to complete her First Tip and made my own study schedule. Before I started doing any questions I made sure I knew the common disease processes, lab values and what they meant, meds classes/SE/adverse rxns. Meds were my weak point so I decided to use Mosby's Pharmacology Memory Cards. I divided that up and studied everyday and reviewed the previous day before starting new cards. I did about 100-200 questions everyday. I used Kaplan Question Trainers for difficult questions and Saunders for the bulk of my questions. I would also make sure I did something I enjoyed every week or at least every other like a movie or a day without studying so I wouldn't go crazy. The last week before my exam I only did questions 4 days and the last three days I relaxed. I also prayed a novena the last two weeks before my exam until I found out the results. I still pray that novena now for everyone still preparing for the exam because I know how hard it was to fail and to keep retesting. I hope this helps but I suggest following Suzanne's Plan because it's always better to follow a study schedule. I keep hearing good things from people who have followed her plan. Goodluck and believe...in the end all things have a matter of falling into place.

Tennyz · Nov 5, 2007

I was only able to complete the First Tip of her plan because by the time I asked her I didn't have enough time according to her plan. So I made sure to complete her First Tip and made my own study schedule. Before I started doing any questions I made sure I knew the common disease processes, lab values and what they meant, meds classes/SE/adverse rxns. Meds were my weak point so I decided to use Mosby's Pharmacology Memory Cards. I divided that up and studied everyday and reviewed the previous day before starting new cards. I did about 100-200 questions everyday. I used Kaplan Question Trainers for difficult questions and Saunders for the bulk of my questions. I would also make sure I did something I enjoyed every week or at least every other like a movie or a day without studying so I wouldn't go crazy. The last week before my exam I only did questions 4 days and the last three days I relaxed. I also prayed a novena the last two weeks before my exam until I found out the results. I still pray that novena now for everyone still preparing for the exam because I know how hard it was to fail and to keep retesting. I hope this helps but I suggest following Suzanne's Plan because it's always better to follow a study schedule. I keep hearing good things from people who have followed her plan. Goodluck and believe...in the end all things have a matter of falling into place.

Jbel, Thank you so much for your respond. Yes, its definitely hard to think of retesting, I have already started doing Saunder's review questions.

Thanks again and Congrats!

MSUCal · Nov 7, 2007

I took the NCLEX for the second time this past Monday (November 5th) and just found out with my Quick Results that I passed. And I passed with 265 questions. So my advice is, DO NOT LOSE FAITH if you go past 75. I cried my eyes out when I got to the car, feeling for sure like I had failed. It's not over until it's over. Take ONE QUESTION at a time. 5 hours of constant question after question is hard on a person, so don't think otherwise. Take the breaks. I wish I had. I kept going, and I was losing focus at the end. So I definitely suggest that if you can, just TAKE a break and get up, stretch, clear your mind, get a drink of water, whatever it takes, just to get yourself refocused.

I used Suzanne's plan, as well as Incredibly Easy for extra questions. I didn't do quite as many questions as I would have liked, and I really wish I had gotten something on prioritizing and delegating. I had a LOT of prioritization questions, a few select all that apply, three med calculations, and the rest is really just a blur.

Suzanne's plan is great because it gives you a real, achievable goal and a way to pace yourself so you don't feel overwhelmed. Take time to RELAX. It's so hard to say, not so easy to do, but cramming the night before is NOT going to help. PACE YOURSELF. Make sure you do something fun and for yourself at least once a week.

READ EVERY WORD OF THE QUESTION. Determine what it is asking, and what part of the nursing process it is addressing! I caught myself in that trap a couple times this time around, realizing it was asking one thing, and that all three answers except the right one addressed another.

All in all... learning how the questions were worded and how to eliminate wrong answers served me better than trying to memorize material. If you have weak points, but all means study those, but spend a LONG time learning how the test is administered and how the questions are worded, and how answers will try to trick you. THAT is what helped me this time around.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

Tennyz · Nov 7, 2007

I took the NCLEX for the second time this past Monday (November 5th) and just found out with my Quick Results that I passed. And I passed with 265 questions. So my advice is, DO NOT LOSE FAITH if you go past 75. I cried my eyes out when I got to the car, feeling for sure like I had failed. It's not over until it's over. Take ONE QUESTION at a time. 5 hours of constant question after question is hard on a person, so don't think otherwise. Take the breaks. I wish I had. I kept going, and I was losing focus at the end. So I definitely suggest that if you can, just TAKE a break and get up, stretch, clear your mind, get a drink of water, whatever it takes, just to get yourself refocused.
I used Suzanne's plan, as well as Incredibly Easy for extra questions. I didn't do quite as many questions as I would have liked, and I really wish I had gotten something on prioritizing and delegating. I had a LOT of prioritization questions, a few select all that apply, three med calculations, and the rest is really just a blur.
Suzanne's plan is great because it gives you a real, achievable goal and a way to pace yourself so you don't feel overwhelmed. Take time to RELAX. It's so hard to say, not so easy to do, but cramming the night before is NOT going to help. PACE YOURSELF. Make sure you do something fun and for yourself at least once a week.
READ EVERY WORD OF THE QUESTION. Determine what it is asking, and what part of the nursing process it is addressing! I caught myself in that trap a couple times this time around, realizing it was asking one thing, and that all three answers except the right one addressed another.
All in all... learning how the questions were worded and how to eliminate wrong answers served me better than trying to memorize material. If you have weak points, but all means study those, but spend a LONG time learning how the test is administered and how the questions are worded, and how answers will try to trick you. THAT is what helped me this time around.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

Congrats and thank you! I am studying to take the exam for the third time. Its so hard to study again, but I am going to do it.

Born-In-The-USA · Nov 7, 2007

Thanks for the validation. I am starting suzzane' plan from today.......anyone currently doing her plan as well, lets get together and nail the test.